Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital SMART Edition of The Times-Tribune on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at thetimes-tribune.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device, read the Smart Edition sign up for daily newsletters, activate your all access, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Right now, folks dream of Thursday and all the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and turkey the holiday offers. Local Flavor loves a Thanksgiving meal just as much as the next person, but today it’s all about the other white meat: pork.
(read more)

Article Tools

With musical influences as divergent as Nine Inch Nails and Ani DiFranco, it's difficult for members of Harlot to land on a mainstream genre that encapsulates their sound. So they coined one on the fly - synth meets folk, a melodic mix of acoustic strums backed by spacey, eerie electronic tones.

"Because our influences are so different, it's kind of synth-oriented, but it's kind of folk-oriented and it's dramatic and it's indie," said vocalist and guitarist Rennin Davidson of Pittston, who uses the stage name Betty Harlot. "We're just a bunch of weirdos that like to make noises."

She and synthesizer player Amanda Malia of Kingston, known as Boo Boo Harlot, met at the former Naks by the Tracks in Exeter, became friends and started jamming together. They became a duo over the summer after playing in a band with other musicians.

"We had a full band at one point, but it just wasn't working out and we just function so much better as a duo," said Ms. Davidson. "It's more fun, it's more collaborative."

Feminist influence

The two have an easy rapport built on friendship and mutual respect of their disparate influences. Ms. Davidson said she listens to a lot of folk, but also loves the music of punk band Minor Threat.

"If there was a rumor about a female singer being a lesbian in the 1990s, I probably have all of her albums," she joked. "That's the type of genre of music I listen to. And riot grrrl, which is essentially the same thing, it's just angry."

Ms. Davidson learned to love music at an early age, whether she was dancing around the living room listening to records with her mother or making a mix tape for a family road trip. Her family members weren't musicians, but they really enjoyed music and they all sang a lot. Ms. Davidson sang, too, in school talent shows and in chorus.

"I've always had really cool music around me," she said. "I lucked out with that."

She started playing guitar when she was 13, heavily influenced by the percussive playing of her favorite artist, Ms. DiFranco.

"When I was 13, I'm like 'I need to be like her.' I actually have her tattooed on the inside of my arm," she said.

Ms. Malia is a multi-instrumentalist, whose musicianship began at age 12 when she learned to play drums.

"With that, I was actually a big nerd in the marching band and concert band, so I learned how to do percussion section, mallets and all that," she said.

She played piano for fun before she started playing the synthesizer in another local band. She also plays all the traditional rock band instruments, including guitar, bass and keyboard.

Neither member of the group plays music full time. Ms. Davidson works in consumer relations for social media. Ms. Malia works part time as a bartender and is an artist. A few of her pieces, including painted guitars, are on display at the Rattler in Pittston, where she also works.

"If I run out of canvas, I'll go to Salvation Army and grab a statue or something, like a small one, paint it, make it look weird," she said. "I'm into goth kind of art. I don't even want to call it goth."

"Creepy," Ms. Davidson supplied.

Up next

Ms. Malia said she started giving pieces away after her last art show so she could start over. Her current focus is a more realistic style of painting that incorporates people.

The duo performs regularly - usually every weekend - at home base the Rattler and other local venues. Show dates are posted on the band's Facebook page. They are also booked to play the Frozen Harbor Music Festival in Baltimore, Md. on Feb. 22.

Booking gigs locally is no longer the struggle it was five or six years ago, when few local venues were willing to take a chance on original bands, Ms. Malia said. Venues that cater to local acts have been popping up, and now pretty much every bar is booking original acts, she said.

"It used to be pretty bad," she said. "It used to be all about cover bands because nobody would come out, but now for some reason people are focusing on original bands more - more than ever."

They consider their music a form of artistic expression akin to poetry or painting. Ms. Davidson supplies the words, drawing influences from everything around her, she said. She carries a lyric book with her to jot down ideas as they pop into her head. Her songs stem from a range of topics from fantasy and fairy tale elements to her experiences growing up pagan. Other times, inspiration strikes when the guitar is in her hands.

"I might be just sitting there messing around with my guitar and then start word-vomiting," she said. "It's so gross, but I don't know how else to say it. Then some kind of pattern starts forming and you start building a song."

An EP is in the works and will be available soon, said Ms. Davidson. They hope to release a full-length album in the future.

Although pleased with their current configuration, the duo also plans flesh out the lineup, adding a drummer and some other musicians. The additional musicians will help create a different dynamic, Ms. Davidson said.

"We have things in the making, so people should definitely stay tuned," she said.

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.